Looking Ahead to the Biggest Dog Trends for 2018

It’s the Year of the Dog, according to the Chinese calendar. So clearly, it’s an extremely auspicious time to be a dog (or a dog lover). We asked our Dog People Panel of experts about some of the most exciting trends for dog owners for 2018. Turns out that their favorite developments for dogs range from technology to nutrition and everything in between.

It’s a really exciting year to be a dog owner. Not only is it the Year of the Dog, but more and more businesses are becoming pet-friendly and that means more dogs are getting to go on adventures with their owners.

My dogs join me in everything from paddle boarding to riding motorcycles!—and I get asked quite often about how others’ dogs can join them on adventures. It makes me incredibly happy. And with social media, we are seeing more cute dogs to inspire us and find new places to adventure to together.

With all of this is a whole new movement to help keep our pets healthier. I love seeing the new trends in feeding healthier food, which leads to a healthier lifestyle and longer years for our pets.

As technology advances, we’re seeing it reaching the pet sector, from tiny GPS trackers to the newest pet device in our house—a Furbo 2-way camera that notifies us if our dogs are barking, being active. We can reward good behavior by having it feed treats too. The Furbo connects to Alexa by Amazon.

A post shared by Furbo (@furbodogcamera) on Feb 6, 2018 at 10:56pm PST

America’s Favorite Vet, Dr. Gary Richter, on Health Advances for Dogs

The movement to legalize medical cannabis for pets and to support more research is going to change the face of veterinary care with regards to how we approach treating many common diseases as well as pain management.

Advanced technologies, such as stem cell therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery (a minimally invasive kind of microsurgery) are becoming more widely available for pets. Therapies such as these provide treatments that were never available before for companion animals.

The movement to integrate nutrition, natural medicine, and preventative care are becoming more mainstream in veterinary medicine.

Lastly, pet insurance is becoming more and more popular. Good insurance allows people to take better care of their pets.

Pet Lifestyle Expert Capree Kimball is All About Walking it Off

Capree Kimball with Wrigley

On-demand dog walking! So many people I know have had trouble finding dog walkers in the past–it’s always felt a bit like a guarded secret or that you have to go through a tedious scavenger hunt of recommendations.